The Orioles may have to move on from Mark Trumbo

For free agent Mark Trumbo, the new year begins with old questions: Will he be an Oriole in 2017? If not Baltimore, where does he end up? And at what price?

Trumbo turned down the Orioles' qualifying offer. They then made him at least one four-year offer that was reported to be in the $52 million range. While that seemed low, it seems more in line when you consider that Ian Desmond got a five-year, $70 million deal from Colorado and Edwin Encarnacion got three years and $60 million with a fourth option year from Cleveland.

Trumbo had a career year for the Orioles in 2016, batting .256/.316/.533 with 27 doubles, a triple, 47 homers, 108 RBIs and an OPS of .850. He set career highs in homers, RBIs, slugging and OPS and made his second All-Star team. He led the majors in home runs, hitting 13 more than he ever had before, and tied for eighth in RBIs.

If the Orioles re-sign him, the belief is it would be to mostly serve as the DH. He obviously doesn't bring the needed upgrade in outfield defense they are looking for. Trumbo is considered a solid defender at first base, but unless they are not telling us something, the O's don't seem inclined to have Trumbo play first and move Chris Davis to right field.

The pros to re-signing Trumbo are the huge power he provides, not to mention clubhouse leadership. He had several big hits in 2016, including a homer that provided their only runs in the American League wild card game. He was very impressive and it was clear he had a huge amount of respect from his teammates.

The cons would be tying up years and dollars in a player that doesn't bring quality outfield defense or much help in the OBP department. Plus, if the O's bring him back, they would not get the compensatory draft pick they would get if he signs elsewhere.

Few teams have been linked to Trumbo, but that could change as the countdown to spring training begins.

Trumbo had unique split stats versus left- and right-handed pitchers. He hit just .173/.223/.385 against southpaws. For a right-handed power hitter, those numbers look very strange. In his career, he is a .251/.306/.466 batter against lefties. Against right-handers last year, he batted .284/.347/.584 with an OPS of .932 (which was .608 against lefties).

I could be remembering it incorrectly, but it seemed that when Nelson Cruz hit 40 homers at 33 in 2014, many fans wanted him back badly. More than seem to favor a re-signing of Trumbo now. That was a career-high number for Cruz for homers. But he's gone on to hit 44 and 43 for the Mariners.

When the O's added Trumbo, some predicted he'd easily hit 30 homers - and maybe 40 at Camden Yards. He hit 47, 25 coming in his home ballpark. Fans wondered how the club would do without Cruz's 40 homers, but the Orioles continued mashing them without him. Would they do the same without Trumbo?

The sense of things right now seems to be that Trumbo will not return to the Orioles. But that can change and there were plenty of times last year that it seemed they had moved on from Davis. There are few certainties in the free agent game.

If the O's got Trumbo for four years at around $60 million, that would seem rather reasonable for 40-homer power. But at the same time, they would be paying mostly for only the power, knowing they are not getting defense or OBP. A contract like that for a player that would be 34 in the final year seems too pricey for me right now. Not when the club has defensive and OBP needs, but retains plenty of players that can hit home runs. Trumbo had an incredibly impressive year in Baltimore, but shouldn't the club use those funds for players filling more current specific needs and/or extension dollars for current core players? I think that answer is yes.

What is your take? Should the Orioles continue to pursue Trumbo?